We are very pleased to present the biographical information for our outstanding faculty:

Adele O'Brien - Kindergarten Teacher

Adele O’Brien serves as the Kindergarten teacher.  Adele has been a first grade and team teacher at Brooklyn Friends School and a Special Education teacher at Edmunds Elementary School in Burlington, Vermont.  She received a B.A. degree at Wellesley in History and an M.S. degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Bank Street College of Education.  For two years, she served as an educational consultant to The Willow School. 

Katie Lombardo – Associate Teacher Kindergarten

Having completed her B.A. degree, Katie is now pursuing her Masters Degree in Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University while serving as associate teacher. Under the guidance of Adele O’Brien, she will broaden her experience and assume more responsibility in the kindergarten class.  Before coming to Willow, she worked as a teacher's aide in special education at the Mary Cariola Children's Center in Rochester NY.

Julie Kim - First Grade

Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Rutgers University. Upon graduation she worked as a legal assistant at a law firm in Dallas, Texas. Since then she has earned her full teaching certificate at The Princeton Center for Teacher Education. Prior to coming to The Willow School, she served as a head teacher at The Albrook School in Basking Ridge, NJ. While at Albrook she served as a mentor teacher to student teachers guiding them in their understanding of educational philosophies and its implementation. Julie has also taken training and is qualified to serve as an AMS School Consultant. As a consultant, Julie is eligible to help schools verify processes and procedures, identify its skills and talents, assist teachers in identifying goals and examining potential areas of growth.

Andy Pruzick - First Grade Assistant

Andy has served as the assistant to the first grade teacher for the past two years.  A graduate of Pace University in 1991, Andy held various positions in the field of technology before joining The Willow School.  Andy and his wife, Kathy, have two children.

Paul Parker - Second Grade

Paul brings over thirty years of teaching experience to his current position as second grade teacher at The Willow School. The majority of his classroom teaching has been with primary students in small schools on the northwest coast of Newfoundland, Canada. In addition to his primary teaching assignments, he has taught a variety of specialty elementary subjects including Science, Computer Science, French and Physical Education. Paul has attended the Programme Special de Français at the University of Laval and received a primary teaching certificate from the Ottawa Teachers College, a B.Sc. from the University of Waterloo and a B.Ed. from Mount Saint Vincent University. Paul was a founding member and field coordinator of the Northern Cultural Heritage Project, which combined scientific research and educational training for Inuit high school students in Canada’s Eastern Arctic. Before joining The Willow School staff, Paul was an alternative education teacher for the Maquatua Eeyou School in Northern Quebec. In this program, Cree students with social and emotional issues pursued academic and traditional studies in both classroom and bush camp settings. Over the course of his teaching career, Paul has done curriculum development projects for the classroom, school and a variety of other organizations including Parks Canada.

Louisa Pitt – Third Grade Teacher

Louisa is a graduate of Milton Academy and Williams College, Cum Laude, where she also served as an environmental studies teaching assistant. She has taught at Greenwich Country Day School and, most recently, at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown, MA. Louisa brings academic strength to the third grade curriculum in science, environmental studies, math, writing, social studies and computer.

Emily Little – Teaching Assistant Grades 2 and 3

Emily serves as a teaching assistant for this school year 2007/08. She received her B.S. in Education, specializing in Elementary Education grades K-8, from the University of Delaware. In addition, Emily has earned a teaching certificate in the states of New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. Prior to coming to Willow, Emily was employed as a substitute teacher at Driscoll Elementary School in Wilton, Connecticut.

Carol Fontaine – Fourth Grade Teacher

Carol was previously employed for ten years at the Albrook School in Basking Ridge.  She is an accomplished educator and holds a degree from Pratt Institute.  In addition, Carol has completed advanced academic courses at Southern Connecticut College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and The College of New Rochelle.  She has extensive experience in art education and is a certified (age 6-9) Montessori teacher.

Suzzanne Mahoney - Science Teacher Grades K - 4, After-School Program

For 12 years Suzzanne was a naturalist in the Morris County Park System, and for four years before that she was a Licensed Practical Nurse.  Most recently she was a teacher’s assistant at Spruce Run School in Clinton, NJ.  As an additional job, Suzzanne will be the director of our summer camp, which will open in July of 2006.  She received her B.A. in Biology from Kean University.

Shannon Downey –Language Arts Teacher Grades 5 and 6, Reading Specialist

Shannon will have dual responsibilities as a reading specialist and language arts teacher.  She earned her B.A. from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA and has been pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education from Seton Hall University.  Shannon is certified in the state of New Jersey as an elementary teacher and has been both a participant and a presenter at numerous curriculum and reading workshops. Before joining the Willow School faculty, Shannon was a fifth and sixth grade teacher at the North Star Academy Charter School in Newark, NJ. 

Judith Salisbury - Science Teacher Grades 5, 6, and 7

Prior to The Willow School, Judy was the Science Teacher and the Science Content Coordinator at Wilmington Friends School in Delaware. Previously, she was the Environmental Education Teacher and Coordinator at Lake Ridge Academy in Ridgefield, Ohio. In addition, she has served as the science and environmental coordinators at many institutions, including the Pocono Environmental Center and Oberlin College. Judy has her B.A. in Natural Science from Edinboro State College in Pennsylvania, her B.S. in Secondary Education for General Science, Earth Science, and Environmental Education from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.S. from Miami University, Ohio, in Environmental Sciences.

Liliana Lisbao – Social Studies Teacher Grades 5, 6. and 7

Liliana Lisbao, now in her fifth year at The Willow School, brings sixteen years of experience in educational planning and teaching at the preschool and kindergarten level.  Prior to joining The Willow School faculty, she was the director of The Magic Garden Preschool in Highland Park NJ.  In addition to her role as director, Liliana developed and taught after-school programs in history, art and creative writing for elementary school children.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University.

August Link - Math Teacher Grades 5, 6, and 7

Prior to coming to Villow, Gus taught math at Wilmington Friends School at the middle school level and is especially versatile in linking math with science. He has also taught in elementary grades at Lake Ridge Academy in Ridgeville, Ohio, the Roanoke City Schools in Virginia, and the Falmouth Public Schools in Massachusetts. He has been program director at Virginia Museum of Natural History, Manomet Bird Observatory in Massachusetts. He received his B.A. in Elementary Education at Antioch College.

Gina Lefferts - Performing Arts

Gina Lefferts graduated magna cum laude in 1978 from Goucher College and Peabody Conservatory. She received her MA in historical musicology from Columbia University in 1984. After many years of teaching, she went back to school to receive certification in the Kodaly method from NYU. Gina has taught music in a variety of settings since 1976. She has taught private piano lessons from 1976 to the present as well as music theory, piano, and music history at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music from 1980-1989. During that time, she also founded a music and movement program for pre-schoolers and coordinated outreach programs into Brooklyn public schools. Gina went on to teach children in grades five through eight at Berkeley Carroll Street School in Brooklyn. In 1993, she moved to Colorado and collaborated with other parents to found a Waldorf-inspired public school in Boulder. She taught at Friends School and then at Alexander Dawson School in Colorado until she moved back to the east coast this summer to begin teaching at The Willow School.

Catherine Luborsky - French Grades K-7 and Spanish Grades 6-7

Catherine brings over twenty year of experience in teaching French to The Willow School.  Previously, she taught at the Freie Waldorf Schule Wangen in Germany, the Hartsbrook School in Hadley Massachusets and  the Kimberton Walforf School in Kimberton Pennsylvania where she was also the exchange program coordinator and a mentor to incoming language teachers.  Catherine has taught primarily lower school classes but instructed middle and high school grades for six years in Pennsylvania.  She got her Baccalaureat from the Lycée Victor Hugo in Poitiers, France and studied Russian for three years at the Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

Karen Abrams Hilde - Architecture & Planning, Grades 5, 6 and 7

Before beginning her own practice in 1997, Karen worked for a number of architectural firms, including Michael Graves and Associates in Princeton, doing commercial, educational, and residential work. A commitment to sustainable architecture is what initially made her aware of The Willow School, but it was the school's academic philosophy that engaged her. Karen holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning in addition to formal art training in multiple mediums. Along with her formal architectural training, Karen brings her enthusiasm and love of teaching and her experience in curriculum planning.

Susan Rundquist Palmer - Handcrafts

Susan brings to The Willow School a love of children and many artistic talents in traditional handcrafts such as knitting, weaving and sewing. She also has a strong belief in the organic nature of the crafts, ensuring that the children make the connection between the sheep and the wool they are knitting with. A graduate of Bucknell University with a degree in both economics and art/art history, Susan has been teaching at The Willow School since its inception.

Sarah Webb - Art and Library

Sarah has dual responsibilities as the art teacher and librarian at The Willow School. She has had past experience as a librarian in the Brooklyn Public Library, implementing literacy-based library programs and as the school librarian at the Village Community School in New York City. Sarah has also taught art at Warbasse Nursery School and Manhattan Youth and Recreation as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She received a B.A. in Fine Art Painting and Art History at North Staffordshire Polytechnic in Stoke-on-Trent in Great Britain.

Barbara Atwood – Art Teacher Grades 5 – 7

Barbara has had a great deal of experience teaching art in many school districts, most recently, at Roosevelt Public School and at St. Paul School in Princeton.  As a teacher, she has developed art curriculum utilizing a variety of media. She has a BA in fine art from Trenton State College and attended the Rutgers School of Social Work.  Barbara is certified in the Using the Arts in Prevention Program. 

Peter Ganzenmuller – Technology Teacher

Peter is a network and computer support specialist for AF Scott, LLC in Gladstone where he aids a variety of businesses and schools.  Prior to teaching at The Willow School, Peter was Director of Finance and Operations at St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s School in New York.  He also taught technology and mathematics at the school to students in grades second through eight. 

Mark Casey – Physical Education Teacher

Since 2006, Mark has been a substitute teacher and instructor in the after school program at Willow.  He holds a bachelor of arts degree in health and physical education from Kean University in addition to a NJ teacher certification.  Mark has developed and implemented unit plans for grades kindergarten through eighth at the Franklin School as well as Chatham Middle School.  Most recently, Mark has been employed as a manager and personal trainer at Xercise Body Improvement Center in Chester. 

Mary Toolan - School Psychologist

Mary Toolan, a certified school psychologist entered the field of education over seventeen years ago from the business world.  Her experience includes leading Child Study Teams and case management in area public school systems.  She recently expanded and managed a gifted education program for grades K through 12 in Middlesex, NJ.  Mary holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Kean University and a post-master's EdS (Specialist in Education) in School Psychology from Seton Hall University.  In addition, Mary has passed the National School Psychologist Exam.  Mary lives with her family in Long Hill Township. 

Kathleen Diegnan – School Nurse
Kathleen was previously the school nurse at the Purnell School.  She has a wealth of experience in health education for school age children.  Kathleen has been employed in the private sector by Genentech and Pediatric Services of America, as well as by Overlook Hospital as a pediatric nurse. She is a graduate of Villanova University and is a licensed registered nurse.